Perform each workout listed below once a week, resting at least a day between each session. Perform the exercises as straight sets, completing all the recommended sets for one exercise before moving on to the next.
Exercises that say to work up to a certain repetition maximum (RM) mean to gradually warm up to the heaviest weight that allows you to complete all the prescribed reps with perfect form. For example, if you planned to perform a box squat for a three-rep maximum with 315 pounds, you could do it like this: Complete 10 reps with just the bar, then place a 25-pound plate on each side (95 pounds total) and perform three reps. Then do one rep with 155 pounds, 195, and 265, respectively. Then load 315—you should be able to complete only three reps giving your best effort.
Of course, 315 may not be your maximum. Conservatively estimate how much weight your maximum will be in an exercise and determine the warm-up weights you use accordingly. Keep your reps low and rest as needed between warmup sets—these warmups should not be fatiguing. Once you’ve arrived at the correct weight for your maximum, perform two to four sets with it.
Exercises that call for 30 or 40 reps should be done as follows:
Do as many reps as you can at a time with good form, and then rest. Repeat until you complete all the prescribed reps. It’s OK if you get 10 reps on your first set and then only one or two reps at a time for most of your remaining sets. You will improve over time. Each week, complete 10 more reps than you did the week before. So in your second week on this program, you’ll work until you’ve done 40 or 50 reps (as prescribed), and so forth.
When a rep range is given, such as eight to12, choose a weight that allows you to get the higher number of reps on the first set and then increase the weight on the following sets, thereby forcing you to move toward the lower end of the rep range. So, for example, by the third set, you would be using a weight that cuts you off at eight reps.
Unless otherwise noted, use the heaviest weight that allows you to complete all the prescribed reps for a given set.
